GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- With the sports season underway and winter season complete, we've been hard at work selecting some of the best athletes from winter sports.

Beginning Thursday at mlive.com/flint, The Flint Journal will unveil the area's best in girls basketball, with coach of the year, first team all-area, second team all-area and, finally, player of the year.

On Friday morning, we'll reveal the area's best in boys basketball, following a similar pattern. We encourage you to leave your thoughts and reaction in the comments to each post.

The full lists for boys and girls will then appear in the print edition on Sunday, April 13, with photos and headshots of each player.

Athletes of the year for the winter sports, including wrestling, swimming, boys hockey, girls and boys bowling, and girls and boys skiing, follow next week. Stay tuned next week for an announcement detailing that roll out, too.